Similarly, in the Last Judgment, we are told that we will be judged according to how we respond to the hungry, the thirsty, the prisoner and the stranger (Matthew 25.31-46). In the gospel of Luke, Jesus proclaims that he has been anointed to bring good news to the poor (4.1-22). Throughout Israel's history and in the New Testament, the poor are agents of God's transforming power. God's covenant with Israel was dependant on the way the community treated the poor and unprotected-the widow, the orphan and the stranger (Deut. The option for the poor does not mean pitting one group against another, but rather, it calls us to strengthen the whole community by assisting those who are most vulnerable.ДЇrom the Scriptures we learn that the justice of a society is tested and judged by its treatment of the poor. 39)ДЄs followers of Christ, we are challenged to make a preferential option for the poor, namely, to create conditions for marginalized voices to be heard, to defend the defenseless, and to assess lifestyles, policies and social institutions in terms of their impact on the poor. By virtue of her own evangelical duty the Church feels called to take her stand beside the poor, to discern the justice of their requests, and to help satisfy them, without losing sight of the good of groups in the context of the common good.' (Sollicitudo Rei Socialis, para. 'Positive signs in the contemporary world are the growing awareness of the solidarity of the poor among themselves, their efforts to support one another, and their public demonstrations on the social scene which, without recourse to violence, present their own needs and rights in the face of the inefficiency or corruption of public authorities.

Examples of preferential treatment